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Definition of salvage verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

salvage

verb
 
/ˈsælvɪdʒ/
 
/ˈsælvɪdʒ/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they salvage
 
/ˈsælvɪdʒ/
 
/ˈsælvɪdʒ/
he / she / it salvages
 
/ˈsælvɪdʒɪz/
 
/ˈsælvɪdʒɪz/
past simple salvaged
 
/ˈsælvɪdʒd/
 
/ˈsælvɪdʒd/
past participle salvaged
 
/ˈsælvɪdʒd/
 
/ˈsælvɪdʒd/
-ing form salvaging
 
/ˈsælvɪdʒɪŋ/
 
/ˈsælvɪdʒɪŋ/
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  1. to save a badly damaged ship, etc. from being lost completely; to save parts or property from a damaged ship or from a fire, etc.
    • salvage something The wreck was salvaged by a team from the RAF.
    • The house was built using salvaged materials.
    • salvage something from something We only managed to salvage two paintings from the fire.
  2. salvage something to manage to rescue something from a difficult situation; to stop a bad situation from being a complete failure
    • What can I do to salvage my reputation? (= get a good reputation again)
    • He wondered what he could do to salvage the situation.
    • United lost 5–2, salvaging a little pride with two late goals.
    Extra Examples
    • Ministers are now trying to salvage the peace deal.
    • Perhaps something can be salvaged from all this mess.
    • making a desperate attempt to salvage something from the wreck of their marriage
  3. Word Originmid 17th cent. (as a noun denoting payment for saving a ship or its cargo): from French, from medieval Latin salvagium, from Latin salvare ‘to save’. The verb dates from the late 19th cent.
See salvage in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

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noun
 
 
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